Elisa gladly excepted Kristina's hand exiting the carriage first and collecting her numerous belonging second; assuming that her lodgings were close by she saw no need to have her umbrella up, instead opting to place it in it's usual cubbyhole, the nook in the handle of her doctors bag. The pub they had stopped by bright with cheer and rambunctious laughter, no doubt filled with those who wanted to be out of the cold. A good time of year for doctors and publicans it would seem.

Once the small exchange was over, she followed Kristina into the hallway of the building, going past a few unmarked doors and up towards a door which she imagined would be unlocked by the second silver key.

It was, and it lead through into a spacious apartment. Not overly luxurious but decently decorated. What did stand out was the rack of weapons that took up one whole wall! The verity was, in a grim way, magnificent. However it was also saddening that man had though up so many clever ways to kill each other, yet medicine was still in it's infancy; one step forward, two steps back as it were.

"It's certainly unique, I've never seen anything like it" She said astounded.

The receptionist's remark brought a smile to her face, though she was not surprised that Mrs. Fanstein did not remember her. As a student, she had shied away from the receptionist as the stories had told of an old dragon sitting in her lair, ready to belch fire at anyone who thought themselves witty. Her currently targets were the running students and Collin himself, Forysthia had best act polite and demure - she didn't want to be the subject of that icy glare. She grabbed a handkerchief and coughed a small cough, clearing her throat then put the handkerchief back in its place. Foryshia turned to the receptionist and replied to the ice queen, "We are on something of a venture, actually. Could you tell us where a Mr. Frederick Hayner is?"

"We are on something of a venture, actually. Could you tell us where a Mr. Frederick Hayner is?"

"That madman? What do you want to find him for? To be honest I don't understand why the University still employs him, sure he's brilliant, or so I've been told, but hardly anyone attends his classes and I can tell why, the man's about as hard to talk to as the Topsy King," she said as she dug through some of her files, "Ah, here it is he disappeared almost a week ago, some trip to the forgotten quarter, one of his students might know more. He tends to keep all his research in his office and he has the only key to that."

A few students walked past, seemingly covered in paint, likely the victims of some prank or another, Mrs. Fanstein shook her head disapprovingly as they walked past.

"Can't say I blame the man for keeping things locked up though, considering the trouble some of the students get into, his class is small though, only six people, I saw them walking past on their way to the library about an hour ago, you might be able to find them there."

When Collin saw the icy glare, it brought back memories. Memories that he had forced down. Collin wasn't scared of many things. She was one.

"Can't say I blame the man for keeping things locked up though, considering the trouble some of the students get into, his class is small though, only six people, I saw them walking past on their way to the library about an hour ago, you might be able to find them there."

"Oh, the library?" Collin said, "W-well, thank you for y-your time, we are in a hurry."

With that, Colin grabbed Foryshia's shoulder, half pulled, half dragged her out of the room towards the library as quickly as he could.

Cyprus moved again when his colleagues arrived. His response to Allen was a simple one;"We wing it."Cyprus moved quickly to the door of the garbage can of the Neath, kicking the door open. He guessed the clayman wouldn't go for stealth, and the man was armed. Cyprus pulled out his old constable badge and his ratwork derringer, "I'm looking for the duelist, Francis Wolf. Failure to comply WILL result in getting shot." Cyprus always thought that was the best part of his job, though the next part usually varied. They would either surrender the duelist, or would turn on the trio.The latter was always fun. Cyprus grinned wolfishly.

"It's certainly unique, I've never seen anything like it." Elisa said with a look of astoundment as she looked around the apartment.

"Why thank you. Managed to acquire it after a year or so of entering the Neath, a few of my local Bohemian friends told me about this place, apparently from what they heard, the previous owner left to live in a more uxorious part of the city after a big break in their career. That would be about eight or nine years ago I think. Paid for it through a mixture of some odd jobs, and any cash I had on hand." Kristina remarked as she sorted through some files on her desk, contact information mostly and were stowed away in some of the desk's draws.

"Elisa, feel free to put your bags down somewhere for the duration of our visit. I would offer you a cup of tea or something, but unfortunately I've run out, and I feel we wouldn't have the time to fully appreciate one." She then added as she went over to a nearby book case, and picked up some books that were sitting on a nearby stool, placing them back on their respective shelves. The reason for this sudden case of tidying up was that Kristina forgot to do so earlier, and she wanted to make the place look more respectable for Elisa.

"I'm looking for the duelist, Francis Wolf. Failure to comply WILL result in getting shot."

A half full bottle of some foul smelling brew shattered on the wall next to Cyprus, leaving some of his bandages splashed with the concoction. Aside from the bartender, who barely gave an aside glance before going back to cleaning a mug, virtually everyone stood up, several drew rifles, knives, or even the odd revolver. Most of them were large burly Zailors with a few tomb colonists scattered about. Most of them were either glaring at the badge, or laughing derisively at the gun.

A trio of oddly dressed men pushed their way through the others, the trio consisted of a tomb colonist and to men, one short and one tall, the short man seemed to be leading the trio. Each was wearing a different sort of weapon, the colonist had several knives, the tall man had an old but large rifle, and the short man had a pair of revolvers.

"Put the lady gun away son, before you get yourself hurt," said the short man, looking Cyprus up and down and not seeming the slightest bit impressed, "Why exactly are you looking for Francis?"

Cyprus rubbed the bridge of his nose. He forgot pulling a gun on Zailors had the effect of pulling a rubiks cube on a professor. Only with more fists and blinding pain. Also swearing, but that happened when you pulled anything on a zailor.

"Oh god what am I doing with my life? Yes, I need Francis to come with me, he needs to meet with a mister T.E."

Cyprus put away the gun and badge, and exhaled slowly. He didn't even bother to look behind him, he assumed the two hadn't followed directly behind him. He turned back, looking at the trio. Another Tomb Colonist, armed with knives, most of which were skyglass, and the medium to the trio. He also had a black ribbon tied to his arm. The tall one looked to be a zailor, or at least thought their tattoos were interesting to get his own set. The balding short one looked to be normal enough, aside from the dual revolvers. All three had another weird aspect to them, they were all sober, or at least looked and smelled the part. Cyprus guessed they were here for the spider fighting, but best to know for sure.

"Well I've never heard of any T.E. but he's going to have to postpone that meeting, seeing as we're looking for him too. That blasted colonist owes us something." Behind him, the tall man nodded, while the colonist seemed uncaring.

The bar was settling down, with patrons starting to return to their seats. It was beginning to look like there wouldn't be a fight after all. to the disappointment of many of them. One of them called for a bottle to replace the one he'd thrown.

"Hmm, did you come here on your own? Francis is a tough bastard, it'd be foolish to go looking for him by yourself. Then again," the short man shrugged as if the rest of that sentence was self evident, "I suppose you must have some information on him, maybe we can pool our knowledge."

Inside the palace it was dark and the people moved about quietly. "Where do you think we'd best start our search?" Sam asked looking around for someone to ask for directions.

Travian squinted, his eyes trying to adjust to the lack of light. "Well m'lady if I was to give mt opinion I'd say we should start in the kitchen and not just because I skipped lunch." If there was anyone who knew where to find someone in a place like this it was the kitchen staff. "If our man doesn't have his meals delivered to his quarters then perhaps one of the waiters knows if he eats somewhere regularly."

It had been a while since Travian gone on a good old fashioned man hunt, he looked at Sam, waiting to hear what she thought.

"Elisa, feel free to put your bags down somewhere for the duration of our visit. I would offer you a cup of tea or something, but unfortunately I've run out, and I feel we wouldn't have the time to fully appreciate one."

"Yes, Of course" She said to herself and looked for somewhere to place her things, while doing so she couldn't help but notice that Kristina had started tidying up some bric-a-brac, placing books back on their shelves and shuffling away some papers, "There really is no need to tidy on my behalf, after all, as you said; we shan't be staying long."

In the center of the room was a long, low coffee table surrounded, almost besieged by a small collection of sofas and chairs. She settled herself on one of the sofas and placed her belongings onto the beleaguered coffee table, happy to plonk her handbag and coat onto it, but delicately placed down the doctors bag, lest some of the fragile equipment break by shear rough handedness.

Elisa considered what kind of weapon she should choose, a sword or dagger would be useless to her, while slashing or stabbing someone by surprise may be an easy feat, the intricacies of sword fighting were lost on her. A pistol or a gun of some sort might suffice, easy to use and it would certainly give ruffians only equipped with cudgels or knives a startle.

She moved over to the wall of weapons and picked out a revolver, "I beleive this would suit me just fine," She declared, but in all earnestness she would rather not have to use it.

Cyprus replied to his question with, "We wing it." Allen didn't like the sound of that. Cyprus then ran upstairs and kicked the door in, Allen looked up surprised as he followed him. He then saw Cyprus holding his gun, "I'm looking for the duelist, Francis Wolf. Failure to comply WILL result in getting shot." Allen took a step back, there were many armed people in the tavern. They would be ripped apart, this man was far to reckless. The sailors began standing up grabbing their weapons. Allen grabbed his revolver and prepare for combat.

Then three oddly dressed men pushed their way through the others, the trio consisted of a tomb colonist and two men. "Put the lady gun away son, before you get yourself hurt," said the short man looking Cyprus, "Why exactly are you looking for Francis?" The men seemed to calm down, Allen was very relived. "Oh god what am I doing with my life? Yes, I need Francis to come with me, he needs to meet with a mister T.E." Cyprus put his weapons away, he seemed to have understood that he had gone out of line. "May I ask what you men are doing here?"

The shorter man spoke up again, "Well I've never heard of any T.E. but he's going to have to postpone that meeting...That blasted colonist owes us something...Hmm, did you come here on your own? Francis is a tough bastard, it'd be foolish to go looking for him by yourself. Then again, I suppose you must have some information on him, maybe we can pool our knowledge." Allen stepped forward tipping his hat. "Evening gentleman. I am afraid we don't know much, but would you mind sharing your findings with us anyway? You know, as one professional to the other?" Allen said opening his hand to reveal 6 black ribbons. One doesn't rise high without making others fall, and his sword had permanently ended more than one life.

"There really is no need to tidy on my behalf, after all, as you said; we shan't be staying long." Elisa commented as she put her belongings onto the coffee table that was in the centre of the room, but put another bag down more gently; Kristina hazard a guess as that being a bag which contained all of Elisa's medical instruments.

"I know, but it was something I had forgotten to do earlier before I left for the meeting." Kristina remarked casually as she continued to tidy up. She soon noticed that Elisa was busy examining the weapons rack, no doubt trying to find something that would suit her, and soon picked up one of the spare revolvers that were available.

"I believe this would suit me just fine." Elisa announced, presenting the item in question.

"A fine choice, will certainly make a decent sized wound should the need to fire it arise. Think I have a holster for it somewhere." Kristina remarked, as she looked along the rack for the aforementioned holster, which she soon found sitting underneath a scoped rifle.

"Here we are, now that should fit you comfortably as it is, but it can be easily adjusted."

"Evening gentleman. I am afraid we don't know much, but would you mind sharing your findings with us anyway? You know, as one professional to the other?"

"Ah good to see a fellow duelist. I am Daniel, my associates are Gordon and Jim," he said, gesturing at the tall man and the colonist in succession. "I must admit that we don't know much about where Francis is hiding, but he has been sighted here recently, so we figured we'd stop by and start asking questions. Apparently he bought a spider here a few days ago. We were just about to head to the pits to question the seller when your colleague burst in here. The bartender might also know more, but he isn't talking; not to us at least."

The patrons had now fully settled back into their seats, and went back to drinking, shouting, and some mixture of the two that seemed to be their attempts at music. Jim nodded respectfully to Allen, though his expression remained unreadable, while Gordon smiled briefly at him.

"So then, how do you feel about combining our efforts to search for him? that is provided you can keep your colleague in line," Daniel said, extending a hand to shake. The way he was glancing about made it seem as if he was either concerned with something, or perhaps not telling all he knew.

"Well m'lady if I was to give my opinion I'd say we should start in the kitchen and not just because I skipped lunch. If our man doesn't have his meals delivered to his quarters then perhaps one of the waiters knows if he eats somewhere regularly."

Sam laughed. "The kitchen staff are also notorious gossipers. If nothing else, we might overhear something useful," she said, then noticed a young man, probably a secretary, carrying an armload of papers coming down a corridor. Pretending to admire an old painting on the wall, Sam took a step backwards, placing her foot in front of the secretary's and causing the man to trip and fall.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry!" Sam apologized and stooped down to help the man pick up his papers. "Could you please tell us how to get to the kitchen?" she asked once most of the papers had been picked up again.

"I'm sorry miss but I'm in a terribly hurry, especially after this. Please ask someone else," the secretary said solemnly and held out his hand for the papers that Sam still had in her hands but she only smiled and held the documents hostage until the man told her what she wanted to know.

The students are fond of running, it seem. But the sight of Forysthia and Collin going at full pelt towards the library and the smell of old book must have been a sight to see. Forysthia tried to pry herself free, together with cries of "Unhand me you buffoon!" and other such remarks. But the brute had a tight grip on her. Forysthia wondered if she was to die in some corner of the Forgetton Quarter, all because Collin had come with some 'good' ideas like talking to sorrow-spiders or running from a draconian reception as soon as she turned her glare on him. But other matters were more important. The thick, old wooden library door was up ahead and she pulled back, hoping to slow the gentlemen down before they crashed into it.

The secretary, a dark-haired man in a nice suit, sighed, and pointed towards a door not far from where they stood. "That one, it'll be down the stairs, and then you'll be able find it easily enough. Now," he snatched the papers from her hand, clearly annoyed. "I'm in a hurry, so, please excuse me, because I really need to get going." He then started running, pushing away those who stood in his way. Nevertheless, they now knew the location of the kitchen.

"Here we are, now that should fit you comfortably as it is, but it can be easily adjusted."

"Thank you" She put the holster on, adjusting it for comfort and slipped the revolver into it, "I think it's high time we got going then, the others have probably already made some progress in their ventures, it's time we did so ourselves."

Her dawdling had caused her to be late, her being unprepared had caused them to lose time getting her a weapon; she didn't want to be the last group to return to the proposed safe house and she didn't want her new employer to start thinking that she was tardy all the time.

She collected up her belongings and left the apartment and waited in the cab for Kristina. Her coat hid the revolver perfectly, a great advantage if it did needed to be used, it was also easy to reach and draw out, she practised it a few times while she waited for Kristina, better safe than sorry.

"Wait," rumbled Arreck suddenly, stepping forwards to stand besides Allen. When Collin had issued his challenge and riled up the whole pub, Arreck had thought it best to stay back in case the patrons believed he had been brought along purely to intimidate them. He knew his kind had reputation for crime and violence and would rather not be viewed as a vicious enforcer. "First, I would speak with you. You say the duelist Francis Wolf owes you something? Do you intend to kill him permanently or detain him if he cannot pay up? Our employer must meet Francis Wolf."

"Thank you." Elisa said as she put the holster on, adjusting it a little for comfort then slipping the revolver inside. "I think it's high time we got going then, the others have probably already made some progress in their ventures, it's time we did so ourselves." Elisa then grabbed her belongings and made her way out of the apartment. Kristina soon locked up the apartment as she left, putting the keys in an inside pocket of her coat, where they would be safe.

Kristina soon arrived back onto the street where she caught a glimpse of Elisa practising with the revolver, and went up to the driver, taking out the envelope with information regarding Viola. The man turned to notice her, his hands slightly red from the cold.

"You ladies got what needed in there?"

"That we did, and now we are ready. Can you take us to this address please?" Kristina asked, briefly showing him the address that was written in the letter, enough for the driver to memorize it. She soon climbed into the cab and shut the door, pulling the curtains back as she did. Soon the cab pulled away once again.

"First, I would speak with you. You say the duelist Francis Wolf owes you something? Do you intend to kill him if he cannot pay up? Our employer wishes that Francis Wolf should live."

Daniel squinted at Arreck, as if he couldn't believe he was being questioned by a clay man, "I take it your with him?" he said, nodding towards Cyprus. "Well I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, it might take a while but I'm sure your employer will get that meeting he wants," he spoke in a condescending manner, and as he did so Gordon put on an evil grin.

He turned, shooting Gordon a glare that caused him to quickly hide his grin, and with the rest of his trio began walking towards the stairs to the pit, muttering to himself about the audacity it took for a lump of dirt to be asking him questions.

"That we did, and now we are ready. Can you take us to this address please?"

"Certainly miss," the driver said smiling at them.

A few minutes later the cab arrived, the building was a large warehouse with a thick wooden door, and more or less unremarkable, though the man outside reading a newspaper kept glancing around nervously. He nearly jumped at the way the long shadows moved from the flickering of the gas lamps.

The cab driver looked at Kristina as she got out, "This your last stop or do you need me to wait outside again?" he asked, then added "Oh and by the way be careful what you say about your profession, we cabbies do have ears you know," he wiggled his ears in demonstration of this fact, then continued "and some of us are going to ask for more than a bit extra on the tip, just so you know."

"I am looking for the pupils of Frederick Hayner. This is an urgent matter, and we need to speak to anyone who knows anything about his whereabouts."

A group of six students were sitting around a table covered in papers and books, a few of which appeared to be steadily smoking, a two of them had visible burn marks on their clothing.

One of them glanced up from an old map he was looking at, "Um, we're his class," another student punched him in the arm, "Ow, oh right, uh his research is private though."

He turned back to his fellow students and began to whisper with them, after a few minutes of discussion one of them stood and walked over to Collin. He was well dressed, although his hair was a bit disheveled, behind him one of the papers burst into flame and the two covered in burn marks beat it out.

"Well, he told us not to talk about his research to people, but he's been gone longer than he said he would be and we're starting to get worried. But uh, we have to know who you are and why you're looking for him before we can tell you anything," the student fidgeted nervously while the others behind him busied themselves in their work.

As Kristina got out of the cab, she noticed that they had arrived at a large warehouse with a thick wooden door. It looked almost unremarkable if not for the man standing outside reading a newspaper. The cab driver soon turned to meet Kristina. "This your last stop or do you need me to wait outside again?" He asked, but before Kristina could respond the cab driver continued talking. "Oh and by the way be careful what you say about your profession, we cabbies do have ears you know." He wiggled his ears in demonstration of this fact, then continued. "And some of us are going to ask for more than a bit extra on the tip, just so you know." Kristina smiled.

"Why, thank you for your most valued advice my good man. I shall take into consideration for the future. With regards to our location, it is more than likely that myself and my associate will be here for some time; so you are free to leave, no doubt there are others in need of your excellent service." Kristina remarked as she removed her wallet from a coat pocket, opening it up to reveal the money inside. She took out a handful of Echos.

"Here we are. That should cover the cost of the fare, and for waiting for us earlier." She then added, noticing that Elisa was getting out of the Cab. Kristina soon handed over the money to the cab driver.

"This your last stop or do you need me to wait outside again?" he asked, then added "Oh and by the way be careful what you say about your profession, we cabbies do have ears you know," he wiggled his ears in demonstration of this fact, then continued "and some of us are going to ask for more than a bit extra on the tip, just so you know."

"Yes," Eisa said as she got out of the cab, overhearing what he had said to Kristina, "Cabbies also need Doctors," She tapped the eponymous bag, as she did a faint tinkling noise could be heard, to prove her point," How have these cold nights been treating you? Do you have a cough, a fever perhaps?" She asked wickedly, but in truth it was all in jest.

Leaving the cabby with a smug smile on here face, she followed Kristina towards the warehouse. See noticed a jittery looking man trying awfully too hard at being inconspicuous, however his nervous disposition didn't help, jumping at every shadow and noise. He was standing behind the warehouse they had been directed to though, perhaps he was a contact? Trying her best not to frighten him further she approached him to find out.

"Hello, I'm Elisa Huxtable and this is my associate Kristina Morrigan." She said politely,"We are here to see a Miss Viola, perhaps you could direct us to her?"

"Here we are. That should cover the cost of the fare, and for waiting for us earlier."

"Ah you're too kind," he said, accepting the money.

"How have these cold nights been treating you? Do you have a cough, a fever perhaps?"

"I'm in perfectly good health, but I suppose I know who to call should that change," The cabbie grinned, counted his money, then pocketed it and was soon gone.

"Hello, I'm Elisa Huxtable and this is my associate Kristina Morrigan." She said politely,"We are here to see a Miss Viola, perhaps you could direct us to her?"

"What! Oh, uh sorry, I'm supposed to be the secret watchman, if you want in you'll have to do the correct knock," He gestured at the door, "I'd heard you were coming, but uh we still aren't supposed to let you in if you don't know the knock."

Kristina leaned next to a lamp post, listening to the banter between Elisa and the cab driver, who pulled away soon after counting his money. Elisa then went up to the man who was standing watch over by the warehouse, who looked rather nervous, jumping at every unusual shadow and odd noise; Kristina stood beside Elisa as she spoke.

"Hello, I'm Elisa Huxtable and this is my associate Kristina Morrigan." Elisa said politely, "We are here to see a Miss Viola, perhaps you could direct us to her?"

"What! Oh, uh sorry, I'm supposed to be the secret watchman, if you want in you'll have to do the correct knock." The man then gestured at the door in question. "I'd heard you were coming, but uh we still aren't supposed to let you in if you don't know the knock." This caused Kristina to look over the letter about Viola again, seeing if there was information regarding any kind of special knock. She scanned over a majority of the letter's contents till she found what she was looking for.

....When you arrive at the warehouse, in order to gain entry, you must knock on the door three times.

After quickly putting the letter back into the envelope and then back into her coat, Kristina went up to the door, and gave it three hard knocks.

he nervous watchman sighed and went back to keeping an eye out. On the other side of the door the sound of several locks being undone could be heard, then it opened. A scruffy looking revolutionary stood before them. "Ah you must be here for Viola, don't mind Charlie out there, he's new," she led them inside to where Viola's body was resting, and closed the door behind them as they entered.

"So I was told you'd have a message for her when she wakes, but also that you were going to investigate the explosion." she glanced at Elisa's bag. "I take it you're a doctor? Well she's dead right now so I don't think there's much you can do, but feel free to take a look. I could take you to the site of the blast but there's not much left there. If you have any questions about what happened I can do my best to answer them, but far as I know it was an accident."

Viola's body was in surprisingly good shape considering the explosion she'd been in, and her wounds seemed to have largely closed. Most of them seemed to be due to shrapnel and the revolutionaries had already removed some pieces of it and set them next to her. She looked to be fairly young, if a bit dirty and missing a finger or two on each hand.

"I am Collin R. Hobert, explorer, naturalist, and former student at this fine institution, and this is Forsythia B. Baumgartner," Collin said indicating to Forsythia.

"People have gotten worried, since Frederick Hayner has gone missing in a forgotten quarter! We were contacted to find him by the University," Collin partially lied, but showed no signs of it behind his bombastic speech, "I know Frederick was an unique professor that some of you might not of liked, I heard that if he is now found soon, Mrs. Fanstein will have to take over the class."

Kristina stood back from the door as she could hear the sound of several locks opening on the other side. The watchmen breathed a sigh of relief and went back on lookout. As the door opened, a scruffy looking revolutionary appeared before them. "Ah you must be here for Viola, don't mind Charlie out there, he's new." The girl said, soon leading them inside to where Viola's body lay resting, and closed the door behind them.

"Its quite alright miss, I've dabbled with revolutionaries before, even did a few jobs for your lot." Kristina remarked as she gazed upon the body of Viola, noticing that she was fairly young for someone of her supposed repute; albeit a bit dirty and missing a finger or two on each hand, either from the blast itself, or just through random carelessness in her work. Despite the explosion and the aforementioned loss of fingers, Viola appeared to be in fairly good shape.

"So I was told you'd have a message for her when she wakes, but also that you were going to investigate the explosion." The girl said, with her eyes soon catching sight of Elisa's bag. "I take it you're a doctor? Well she's dead right now so I don't think there's much you can do, but feel free to take a look. I could take you to the site of the blast but there's not much left there. If you have any questions about what happened I can do my best to answer them, but far as I know it was an accident."

"Indeed we do have a message, someone has need of her services; though it would be best if we were to explain more once Miss Viola was in better shape, and alive for that matter. The same person who gave us the message has reason to believe that the explosion wasn't an accident, rather that it was sabotage." Kristina said and soon turned to Elisa.

"Elisa, if your capable of doing so, and without further endangering the young lady after her experience, could you possibly examine Miss Viola, see if you can't find anything to help piece the puzzle together. Might be a good idea to have a look at the shrapnel as well." Kristina then turned back to the revolutionary that lead them in here.

"If its possible, is there some place where we could talk in more relative safety, I wish to ask a few questions about what exactly happened at the blast site; which may call for a visit to, but that can come later. Oh, and before I forget, the name is Kristina Morrigan."

"I know Frederick was an unique professor that some of you might not of liked, I heard that if he is now found soon, Mrs. Fanstein will have to take over the class."

One of the students covered in burn marks turned pale at the mention of Mrs. Fanstein, but the one speaking to them seemed unimpressed, "Mrs. Fanstein doesn't know anything about the correspondence, how could she possibly take over?"

The other students nodded, some of them began to whisper to each other, the previously shy one spoke up, "Sir who really sent you? The universities never hired someone to go looking for him before now."

His question got him punched in the arm again, he winced but didn't react otherwise, waiting for an answer.

Rubbery balked at the surfacer's touch. He turned and ran, even as the fortune teller asked them to come in. Ptolemy couldn't stop it. He could only hold on. They careened through the carnival, eventually breaking free of the lights. Ptolemy only managed to leap off as Rubbery dived into the river. Ptolemy was left alone and utterly lost. Not a good position to be in. He couldn't even recall which way they'd come from in Rubbery's wild flight. He sighed, and began to search for the way home. He'd have to try and meet T.E. again at a later date. And avoid the surface bitch, who had obviously spooked the rubbery man on purpose.

Elisa nodded at Kristina's suggestion and set to the job at hand. She placed the bag filled with her instruments near Viola's soon to be alive corpse, took her coat off - finding no good place to store it in warehouse left it on the ground near her bag and rolled up the sleeves of her dress before crouching over Viola to inspect the body.

After in being in an explosion, Elisa could help but note how the body itself was retentively undamaged bar a few pieces of shrapnel that were embedded in and the few the revolutionary's had removed. Viola was missing a finger or two on each hand, but right now it was indiscernible if that had happened before or after the blast; bomb making was a dangerous art, it was entirely plausible that the loss of fingers had happened during the beginnings of this young lady's career. However she could not see any burn marks on young bomb maker's skin, it could be that they had already healed, but it was still suspect.

Hopefully the type of bomb Viola was making at the time might lay rest the astonishing lack of wounds typically associated with an explosion at close range, "Could you tell me, in a much detail as you can, what Viola was doing before the incident?" She asked the revolutionary who had let them in," It could be intrinsic to finding out what, if indeed there was foul play, what actually happened."

"If its possible, is there some place where we could talk in more relative safety, I wish to ask a few questions about what exactly happened at the blast site; which may call for a visit to, but that can come later. Oh, and before I forget, the name is Kristina Morrigan."

"Ah I've heard of you!" the revolutionary said, smiling, "Well this is a fairly safe place, thick walls to keep people out and secrets in, what do you want to know?"

She watched as Elisa examined the body, smiling with pride when she looked over the bits of shrapnel that had been removed. She waited patiently for the questions to start coming in.

"Could you tell me, in a much detail as you can, what Viola was doing before the incident?" She asked the revolutionary who had let them in,"

"We don't know exactly what she was doing beforehand, her assistant for the day might know more, but we haven't found poor Craig. Just got out of New Newgate and this happens to him, bet he ran off after that blast, either that or there just aren't enough pieces of him left to find," she sighed, then continued "Ah well we've lost people for the cause before, Viola's lucky, she was found pretty far away from the bomb, so I think she'd wandered off for a break or something just before the explosion, its the only reason she isn't coming back a tomb colonist if you ask me."

"Ah good to see a fellow duelist. I am Daniel, my associates are Gordon and Jim.....The bartender might also know more, but he isn't talking; not to us at least." Jim nodded at him and Gordon showed a brief smile, he wondered if he had seen them before. "So then, how do you feel about combining our efforts to search for him? that is provided you can keep your colleague in line," Daniel said, extending a hand to shake.

Before Allen could respond, Arreck stepped forward "Wait, first, I would speak with you...Our employer must meet Francis Wolf." Daniel responded with "I take it your with him?" he said, nodding towards Cyprus. [b]"Well I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, it might take a while but I'm sure your employer will get that meeting he wants," Gordon had an evil grin on his face, and it was clear Daniel had no respect for Arreck. Then Daniel turned around and he and the others walked upstairs.

Allen looked at both his colleagues, it was clear the duelist didn't like them. If he had any hope of finding more about Francis he had to go alone. "I think it would be best, if I try to question them again, alone. I am sorry to say that some duelist are quite racist, I will be back shortly." Allen said as he followed Daniel.

"Does the offer for combining our efforts still stand?" Allen asked as he neared the man, this time extending his own hand for a shake. "I have quite powerful friends within the black ribbon society, I am sure they would be pleased if you help me." Allen had a smile on his face.